August 15, 2002 Thursday Final Edition
Her eyes closed to the Church Street traffic, Wang held up her arms [...], swaying slightly.
The Toronto Falun Gong practitioner was certainly a long way from Beijing's Tiananmen Square, where two years ago her husband unfurled a banner touting the benefits of the spiritual practice.
Several days later, he was arrested and sent to a labour camp. His son later joined him for similar offences. Wang stepped out of her meditative state to read the story of her family in Chinese to those in front of St. Catharines City Hall Wednesday morning. Upon finishing, she nodded, stepped back and returned to her invisible sanctuary.
Wang is part of a group of 12 Canadians who say 14 of their relatives are being detained in Chinese labour camps and prisons for following Falun Gong.
Since the government outlawed the practice in 1999, they claim 20,000 people have been sentenced to labour camps and know of 450 confirmed deaths, but suspect there are many more.
Their stop in St. Catharines was the second on a petition-compiling tour of Eastern Canada, the fruits of which they plan to present to the federal government.
They hope to convince Prime Minister Jean Chretien to speak out against China's policies at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation conference slated for October in Mexico. Last year, members of the same group collected 100,000 signatures urging the release of three Canadian citizens being held in China.
The federal government eventually arranged for their release, and now the group is hoping the same can be done for their relatives, and ultimately, all of those being detained.
"This is going to benefit not only our family members, but all China," said Cecilia Xiong, whose mother she said was doused with cold water while recovering from a beating, so she could be beaten again.
"There are 100 million people in China practising Falun Gong. That is not a small number."
[...]
Developed in 1992, Falun Gong is a meditation and exercise regimen, coupled with the three spiritual principles of truth, compassion and tolerance.